


...And Now For Something Completely Magical (1st Year)

by eternalfury1



Series: Harry Potter Re-imagined: Python Edition [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Monty Python RPF, Monty Python's Flying Circus
Genre: Banter, Fluff, M/M, Slow Burn Graham Chapman/David Sherlock, When I Say Slow Burn I Mean SLOW, all 7 books, and I mean that, i will do all 7 years, it will be a long series, romance doesn't start till about 4th year
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-01
Updated: 2019-10-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 05:55:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19435285
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalfury1/pseuds/eternalfury1
Summary: Graham folded his letter up neatly and put it away in his pocket. He had gotten all the books, scale, telescope, phials and cauldron. All he needed to get now was his clothing attire, wand and an animal of his choice. He then scanned the crowd for Michael, and sure enough he spotted him near Quality Quidditch Supplies ogling the newest racing brooms.“Mike! I know those brooms are pretty, but can you please hurry up? We still need to get a few more things and I don’t want to be here all day!” Graham said.Michael snapped out of his daze and grinned sheepishly and somewhat reluctantly walked away from the window. “Oh yeah right…sorry. Just got distracted. Where do we go first?”“Hmm…Well I was thinking we could go to the Magical Menagerie to get our pets first,and then we could get our wands from Ollivanders’ secondly and then get our robes fitted from Madam Malkins lastly.” Graham finished. Michael nodded in agreement and set off together towards the menagerie.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My good friend and I had a cool concept: the pythons as students at hogwarts. We meant this to be a joke but we seriously wanted to make this a series, and so we did! writing all 7 years will be tough, but it's a challenge i would love to take. :)
> 
> Feedback would be appreciated! xx

Diagon Alley was as busy as usual, and Graham was overwhelmed. He had spent half the day hauling his trolley around trying to find the right shops to buy his school supplies, with only Michael helping him. He looked at his list again.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

UNIFORM:

First-year students will require:

1.Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2.One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3.One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4.One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupils’ clothes should carry name tags.  
COURSE BOOKS:

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble  
OTHER EQUIPMENT  
1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.  
PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS.

Graham folded his letter up neatly and put it away in his pocket. He had gotten all the books, scale, telescope, phials and cauldron. All he needed to get now was his clothing attire, wand and an animal of his choice. He then scanned the crowd for Michael, and sure enough he spotted him near Quality Quidditch Supplies ogling the newest racing brooms.

“Mike! I know those brooms are pretty, but can you please hurry up? We still need to get a few more things and I don’t want to be here all day!” Graham said.  
Michael snapped out of his daze and grinned sheepishly and somewhat reluctantly walked away from the window. “Oh yeah right…sorry. Just got distracted. Where do we go first?”

“Hmm…Well I was thinking we could go to the Magical Menagerie to get our pets first,and then we could get our wands from Ollivanders’ secondly and then get our robes fitted from Madam Malkins lastly.” Graham finished. Michael nodded in agreement and set off together towards the menagerie, carefully dodging the rushing adults as they went on. They finally got to their destination and opened the door, the bell chiming as they went in, the various sounds of meowing, hooting and other animal calls filled the air.  
The two boys looked around in fascination and wonder. there were so many animals, Graham wondered how they could all fit in one place, he then wandered with Michael around the isles examining them all in interest, he was having a tough time deciding what animal to pick. In the end he decided to get an owl, since they were very useful for sending and receiving letters, obviously. He tapped Michael on the shoulder.  
“hmm?”  
“Do you remember where the owls are? I want to get one.”  
Michael scrunched up his face in concentration. “I think they were at the front of the shop, we must’ve passed them.”

”Ok well, I’m going to go get one. Be back in a bit.” he said, hoisting his luggage with him.  
“Alright then, I won’t be too far away. I’m going to get myself a cat.” Graham nodded then strolled back to the front of the shop where all the owls were. Ones ranging from snowy, to tawny to black all with sharp eyes and handsome talons. He thought he should feel intimidated by them but on the contrary, he was rather captivated by them. Just then he heard a screech and a loud yelp and a heavy thump that snapped him out of his trance, he looked wildly around to see what the problem was; a skinny boy that was about his age with black hair had fallen down in fright. Graham rushed to his side.

“Are you alright? What happened?” asked Graham with concern etched in his features  
The boy gratefully took Graham’s proffered arm and hoisted himself up and dusted himself off. “Y-Yeah thanks. Just got a fright is all. I was thinking I about getting an owl, but I don’t think I want to now.” he said, giving the owls a resentful glare.  
“Aww, I’m sure they didn’t mean to frighten you. Here, look.” Graham stretched out his hand to lightly stroke a snowy owl that was on top of its perch. It nibbled his finger lightly.  
“Perhaps they just don’t like me.” huffed the boy, crossing his arms . “I just wanted to get an animal for my first year at Hogwarts. Perhaps I’ll just get a cat instead.”  
“oh what a coincidence, it’s my first year as well!” Grinned the sandy blond. “I’m really nervous about what house they’ll sort me into.”

“Same here, but mum says that all the houses are good. I’m just excited more than nervous…mostly.” he gave a short laugh. “anyway, I shouldn’t dawdle too much, I still got a few more things to get yet.”  
“Well...so do my friend and I. would you like to shop with us? Mr..?” Graham offered hopefully, he liked this boy a lot, he was very outgoing.  
The boy smiled warmly, and for some reason, that made Graham inexplicably happy. Michael’s smile made him happy, but that was different. he felt that there was something special about this boy.  
“The name’s David.” he offered his hand which Graham shook enthusiastically. “And I would love to.”  
“Great.” Graham grinned. “well it’s lovely to meet you David, my name’s Graham, but everyone calls me Gray. we’ll set off as soon as my friend gets back and then I buy this lovely snowy owl.”  
“Yeah no worries, I’m gonna go get myself a cat anyway.” David smiled slightly. “they’re really cute.”  
“they sure are.” Graham smiled back. He had a good feeling about this boy.  
*  
“where to now?” inquired David.

"Um. I believe....Ollivander's is the next place to go." Graham replied, gesturing with a wave impatiently when his other friend continued to ogle the different types of cauldrons for a while longer. "Come on Michael, we don’t have all day!" "But they're so cool!" Exclaimed the smaller boy, brushing his floppy fringe from his eyes as he hurried over to his friend, who had already began his descent down the cobbled streets.   
"Wait up Graaaaay." After about 20 minutes, which mostly consisted of Graham having to pry his friend from several displays, they finally reached the foreboding shop front. A shop which was steeped in history, judging by the peeling paint at the corners of the windows, and the flakey wood which separated each foggy pane. For years and years, wizards and witches alike had purchased their wands in this very store. And now. It was time for these three young boys to finally, finally become like the others.

"Is this it?" Michael asked, glancing at his friend who was still gazing at the building in awe. David had a similar expression etched on his face. "Yes Mike. C'mon, you two, let's go!" Graham grinned, grasping Michael's baggy sleeve with his right hand and David’s with his left, with pure excitement, dragging his friends along beside him. They burst through the door, as young boys would before immediately coming to a stop. The shop was oddly quiet, considering the bustling nature of Diagon Alley. It was rather dark and dim lit, and silent, considering the noise outside. Michael swallowed and shifted closer to Graham beside him. He was already nervous, having not come from a wizarding family, and was more amazed by most things here than Graham. But this shop was different. And for the first time, he felt slightly frightened about magic. "Gray?......I'm scared."

“Me too.” added David nervously.   
"Why?" The blond asked, looking confused for a minute before seeming to understand when Mike and David gazed at him with large eyes. He wrapped his arms around his friend's shoulders and gave them both a comforting squeeze, offering a confident smile. "Itll be fine. You're with me! And once we get our wands, there'll be no stopping us! Just you see!"

That was when they heard a slightly raspy, shuddery breath, which seemed to fill them with a fair bit of dread and anticipation. A thin, spindly, wrinkled man pulled himself from a rickety supply cupboard, his large eyes orb like and indescribably blue. His hair was wiry and pure white like snow, and it appeared as if his bony, gnarled body was held together by pure magic alone. He inched closer to the lads, regarding them with a slow smile that seemed to stretch across his wrinkled face before opening his arms. "Welcome, boys. I am Mr Ollivander."  
The three boys jumped slightly, and Mr Ollivander laughed softly, the smile reaching to his eyes.  
“No be scared dear ones, I’m just an old man who sells wands.” he said, reassuringly as he took his place back at the front desk. “I take it that you three are starting hogwarts?” he nodded toward their luggage and animals.

Michael stepped foward and cleared his throat. “Ahem, y-yes sir. We’ve been really excited to get our wands and everything!”  
Ollivander smiled. “Naturally. Now, who’d like to get their wand first?” Graham raised his hand and stepped forward. I do thank you sir."  
"Excellent! now stick out your arm if you please." Graham did as he was told and the old man whipped out some measuring tape and examined the length of his arm. looked at the measurements and whipped back to the isles of wands and took one out and hurried back to the group of boys who were staring in fascination. “Try this. 12 inches, ebony wood, unicorn hair core, slightly springy, good for charms work.” Graham took it and gave it a wave causing a few boxes to fly off of their shelves, Mike and David flinched and Ollivander grimaced. “No, no definitely not.” He then darted off back and got another box higher up on the shelves. “perhaps this one? 12 and a half inches, English Oak wood, Phoenix feather core, Quite flexible, excellent for transfiguration.” Graham took the offered wand and gave it a swish. His arm felt rather warm and tingly as a wonderful sensation ran through his body, he smiled and Ollivander gave him a pleased look. “I believe you have found your wand…and it has found you.”  
“My wand found me? What does that mean?” said the blond, puzzled.

“The wand chooses the wizard.” the old man stated simply. “Now, who wants to go next?”  
“Oooh me! I do!” exclaimed David. He had gone so quiet the two other boys almost forgot he was there.  
Michael jumped about a foot in the air in shock, causing the tall blonde to burst out laughing. "I didn't even realize you were still here!" "Of course I am!" David exclaimed, looking eager and excited, his brown eyes alight with anticipation. "Mr Ollivander, may I go next?"   
"Of course you can." The elderly man replied, his pale eyes observing the young boy, as if scanning him before he disappeared down the long, arched aisles of the shop. It was only then that the boys seemed to have noticed just how many wands there were, each tall aisle aligned with thousands upon thousands of boxes. "I never imagined there'd be so many!" David squeaked in surprise, watching as Mr Ollivander climbed a rather tall ladder, with apparent ease despite his age. Graham couldn’t help but smile fondly at the small boy, who was wedged currently between himself and Michael. "Well..of course there is. Every wizard and witch in the world needs a wand. And pretty much the entirety of Great Britain's wizards and witches would get there wands here, right?" 

"Wooooowwww..." was the amazed reply that came from both David and Michael, their brown eyes wide with awe.

Before long, Ollivander had returned, with only two boxes. "Now.....this one is alder wood, 9 inches. Not the most flexible type but it has a unicorn hair core. Give it a wave. I feel the wood is perfect for your temperament." David now looked nervous, glancing towards the other two boys, who were both giving him comforting looks, before he waved the wand. A glass paper weight suddenly sprung from the table, whizzing past the group, narrowly missing Michael's right ear before it hurtled past and shattered the window behind. David's eyes widened in horror before he immediately dropped the wand onto the desk. "Hell no!" Ollivander observed the broken glass before he offered a shrug, immediately beginning to open up the other wand. "Perhaps a no, for that one."

"Perhaps!!??" Michael exclaimed, his breath heavy from the shock, eyes narrowing when Graham doubled over, filled with laughter.

"I'm so sorry Mike, are you okay?" David asked, looking guilty before immediately turning back when Ollivander cleared his throat for their attention. "Now this one. This one seems...extremely well fitting. Mahogany wood, extremely practical and very protective. 10 and a half inches long, sturdy with an air of flexibility. Phoenix feather......coincidentally, the feather from the same creature that provided this young man with his." Ollivander smiled, a seemingly knowing smile as his pale, intense eyes passed to Graham. David turned his head, both him and Graham sharing a look between one another. An odd connection seeming to appear between them as David fingers slowly curled around the wood. It felt as if sunlight was suddenly pouring through his forearm, bathing him in an odd comfortable feeling. The boy smiled, his brown eyes alight with happiness before moving his gaze to the elderly man. "Your wand." Ollivander spoke up softly, his eyes seemingly rather warm upon seeing the pure joy on David face. "It will serve you well."  
"Wow." David whispered, the smile still on his face as he gazed at the wand in his hands before turning his gaze to Michael. "Your turn now, Mike."   
"I don't bloody well think so." said Michael slightly anxiously.

Ollivander frowned, tilting his head at the brunette. "Are you afraid?"   
"I'll say! That glass almost hit me in the face!" Michael exclaimed before frowning again when he heard a giggle. "Graham this isn’t funny."  
"Sorry. I'm sorry." The blond replied, holding his hand over his mouth.

Ollivander nodded slowly before he took a step closer. "Your sister is a witch, is she not?" Michael's eyes widened. How did his man know? Obviously he'd have sold her a wand, but he’d have sold millions of wands to millions of people, no one could have that good of a memory, it struck Michael as rather odd and a tiny bit suspicious. The elderly wizard nodded slowly and smiled, the young man's silence confirming what he already knew. "I have a feeling I know which wand is yours." He replied before disappearing to look through the boxes again. Michael turned to the others. "Well he's bloody terrifying."

"You never said your sister was a witch, Michael." Graham spoke up softly, looking fairly surprised. Michael shrugged it off. "Didn’t think about it really." The brunette replied, looking nervous as he watched Ollivander scaling the ladders. "....is he really safe up there?"  
"Mike, he's been doing this for years. I'm positive he's safer up there than, say you, for example." said Graham. 

"...Fair point. Thanks Gray." There was a moment of silence before Michael spoke again, this time, a hint of curiosity in his voice. "What does it feel like? When the wand picks you?" "You'll have to wait and see." David replied with a smile before he gently pressed his hand to Mike's shoulder. "Stop worrying. You'll be fine."  
Michael jumped when Ollivander suddenly appeared once more, holding only the one box in his hands. "Only the one? Yes. I get a good feeling from this wand." 

"Yes but the first attempt these two have had, has made me slightly dubious." said Michael rather nervously.

"Hold out your hand." Ollivander ordered, yet his voice was soft. He clearly wasn't going to let Michael's doubts ruin what should be a special moment in any wizard or witch's life. Michael swallowed before he held out his hand, holding his breath in anticipation. "Maple wood." Ollivander started as he slowly withdrew the wand from the box. "A perfect suit for what I know you will become. A fine wizard one day, as all of you shall. Unicorn hair. 12 inches. Quite flexible. Please, my lad. Take the wand." Michael swallowed hard before he reached for it. The minute his fingers wrapped around the wood, it felt as if the item had immediately become another limb. It felt as if electric ripples of energy had consumed his forearm. He finally breathed again, glancing across at Graham and David with a big smile. Ollivander smirked. "Congratulations. You will all do great things, I'm sure."  
”I suppose we will, Sir.” said Michael. “Thanks a lot for the wands.”  
”It was my pleasure dear ones.” Ollivander said.  
Graham tapped Michael on the shoulder “C’mon Mike, we’ve spent enough time here, we need to get our robes fitted and then we’re done with our shopping and then we get to go to kings cross!”   
Michael sighed tiredly, Gray was right. The sooner they got done with the shopping, the quicker they could get to Hogwarts. Michael felt partly guilty since he held them all up looking at everything.  
”Alright Gray, Lets go then.” after waving their goodbyes to the old man, the three boys then hoisted up their luggage yet again and headed out for Madam Malkins’,

**

Graham was getting tired of all this measuring, first for their wands, now this. There he stood, still as a statue while Madam Malkin took his measurements, both body and arms. Then she whisked off to get him a pair of suitable robes.  
“Aww why are you so bothered Gray?” asked David.  
Graham huffed. “We’ve been here so long, I dread to think how long it will take us all to get fitted.”  
”Gray, we’ve only been here for 5 minutes, you’re just stressing. There is no need to stressed. We’ve got plenty of time to spare before the train leaves.” David said, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.”tell you what, I’ll keep you up to date on what time it is, just so you don’t keep stressing, yeah?”  
Graham sighed. “Thanks, that’d be great.

“He’s right you know. You need to ease up.” added someone to his right. Graham swivelled his neck around to find a boy who by the looks of it, just got fitted himself and was adjusting his robes neatly. He looked about their age, with thick black hair and a stout body, and wavy back hair. “I’m going to where you are too” he said as Madam Malkin came back with Graham’s robes in hand and was now helping him in them. “yes well…I’m just very excited to get there that’s all.” said Graham, turning back to examining his robes in the mirror. “I’m Graham by the way. And this is David and Michael” he gestured to Both boys gave the unknown boy handshakes and a polite smile. “Nice to meet you, I’m Terence, but I go by Terry nowadays.” he smiled and shook Graham's hand.  
“So what do you think? How do my robes look?” Asked Graham, still examining himself. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Michael rolling his eyes.  
“You look fine!” said David brightly. “it isn’t too long at the back, the sleeves are just the right size too. It really suits you!”  
Graham smiled. “Cheers Dave, You ready to get fitted next?”

“Yep, right after Michael that is.” David said as he gestured towards the dark haired boy who was insisting to Madam Malkin that he didn’t need help putting on his robes and that he was perfectly fine with doing things himself, but he then soon realized that his struggle was futile when the woman wasn’t giving up, so he just sighed in resignation. Graham and David both held back a snicker, even Terry cracked a smile. “Alright boys.” said Madam Malkin, straightening up. “Who’s next?”  
David timidly raised his hand. “I am, Miss.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Graham and the gang finally arrive at Hogwarts!

Kings Cross station was bustling with crowds of people, young and old alike, either rushing to catch their trains or waiting for it to arrive if they were too early. Graham found it rather suffocating in fact, he hurriedly weaved through them only bumping into a few people as he went along. Soon he, Michael and David reached platform 10 and finally caught their breath.

“Bloody hell Gray, must you always run so fast?” Wheezed Michael as he leaned on his luggage, Michael’s cat also seemed rather stressed from all this running, even though he was in his cage, the black cats’ tail wagging and posture tense. David’s cat on the other hand, didn’t seem very stressed at all. In fact the orange cat was laying contently, observing everything through the bars of his cage.

“Yeah Gray, it wouldn’t kill you to slow down once in a while.” said David, who was wiping his sweaty forehead with his sleeve. “Where is platform 9 3/4 anyway?”

“Oh hush you two, we can relax when we get on the train.” Graham said. But Michael brought up a good point: Where _ _was__ platform 9 3/4? He glanced around, hoping to find someone to help them, but thought the best of it. People would have scoffed and thought them to be mad. Oh how he wished he had an adult to accompany them. But Michael and David had proven themselves to be just as helpful as a full grown adult. And for that, he was grateful for.

“Look around, see if anyone’s headed our way” Michael said, glancing around.

David nudged Graham, gently in the ribs. “Those people look like they’re one of us” he said quietly, nodding towards a lady that looked to be in her late 30s to early 40s, next to her, there was a smartly dressed young boy with black hair that was swept back neatly who looked awfully tall and mature for his age. They were both standing only a few feet away from where they were, but luckily Graham, David and Michael could make out what she was saying over the chatter of people.

“Now John, have you got everything ready?” asked the woman.

“Yes mum, we’ve been over this before, I’ve got my cat, all of my clothing, my robes, wand…everything.”

“Even your extra pair of underpants?” she asked.

John flushed at that and the trio couldn’t help but snicker but Graham gestured for them to be quiet, even though he himself was cracking up.

“Yes, mother even underpants. Can I go now?” Asked John somewhat irritably, looking as if he would rather be anywhere but here.

“Of course you can dear.” she said, planting a kiss on his brow, and smoothing out his already neat hair. “do remember to write won’t you?”

“Will do. Love you.”

“I love you too dear. Now get going.” his mother said, John responded with a small smile and nod. And with that, he ran straight in the wall and then vanished between platforms 9 and 10. Michael, Graham and David all looked at each other, with the same gobsmacked expression on their faces.

“Are we supposed to run…through that solid wall?” asked Michael in disbelief, his eyes still on the spot where John had vanished.

“Seems so.” replied David. “and it’s not solid. You saw him go right through it. You won’t crash.”

“I know, but still…” said Michael uncertainly.

“Are you scared Mikey?” asked Graham teasingly, with a cheeky glint in his eye. “Are you too chicken to do it?”

“Wow I think he must be.” added on David, who was grinning.

Michael spluttered, looking outraged. “excuse you, I’ll have you know I’m no chicken!, I’ll show you!” he grabbed his trolley and ran straight at the wall and vanished. David and Graham looked at each other with amusement and followed suit. Graham was silently disappointed a bit at the fact that Platform 9 3/4 looked like any other platform, with an even more ordinary train. He had expected more, but maybe he was being too uptight. Judging by Michael and David’s expressions, they thought differently. They both made their way through various people, (who looked like they were mostly students or soon to be students of Hogwarts, as the black robes were a dead giveaway) and onto the waiting train, after a few minutes, when everyone else climbed on board,. The the three boys then walked to find a compartment. After a few minutes of looking, nearly every one of them was full, until they found one that was occupied with one boy who was looking out of the window, seemingly bored. Graham recognized him as the boy called John, who he saw earlier.

“Scuse me, do you mind if we sit with you? Everywhere else is full. Piped up David. John turned his head and observed them carefully, nodded his head without saying a word and looked back out of the window. The boys then, with some difficulty, put their trunks into the compartment up above them, Michael then flopped ungraciously onto his seat, rubbing his arms.

“Oh thank god, we can finally relax” said David sighing out of relief, sitting opposite of Michael. Michael nodded in agreement.

“Ya know, we should let out our pets out, since they’ve been cooped up all day. It’ll give them a chance to stretch.” suggested David, who was unlocking his cats’ cage, as soon as it was opened it bounded out onto his lap, stretched, and lay neatly down on his lap, purring. Michael then opened his cat cage and his own feline timidly walked out, examining his surroundings then slumped back down onto the seat. Graham saw out of the corner of his eye that John was giving the felines a fond smile and looked like he wanted nothing more than to stroke them.

“So, what are you going to name yours, Mike?” asked David.

“Marmalade, because of her fur.” Michael said smiling as he scratched behind Marmalade’s ears. “what about yours?”

“Oh cool. Well I’ve thought about it and I’ve decided to name him Void.” Said David. Graham rose his eyebrows at that. David caught his eye and huffed. “Oh come on, Mike named his after a jam! Void is cool and mysterious!”

“Of course it is.” said Graham who looked very amused by this whole name calling fiasco. “I might call my owl…Reggie.” he said as he stroked his owl through the bars of the cage. “I can’t wait to let him out when we get there. He hasn’t had a chance to stretch his wings.”

“I can’t wait till we get sorted into our houses to be honest.” said David, stroking his cat idly. “Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin? Mother told me about them.”

Michael nodded. “Yeah that’s right. I’ve heard that Slytherin house was the house that You-Know-Who was in as well as a tonne of his other followers as well.”

  
  
”What happened to him? Where is he now?” Asked Graham curiously.

“You-Know-Who? Weak and in hiding I suppose, ever since he tried to kill that Potter kid when he was a baby. His curse rebounded or something like that.” explained Michael. “That kid was the first person to survive the killing curse. He’s on this train apparently, he’s starting this year, same as us.”

Graham sat there shocked staring down at his hands, wondering how evil someone had to be to try and kill a baby in its own cot. He was wondering what it would be like to be in Slytherin, perhaps it would be rewarding. But now he wasn’t sure.

“Don’t worry. We won’t stop all being friends in any of us end up in Slytherin!” said Michael, dragging Graham out of his thoughts. He must have read the concern and hesitation on his face. “Just because there’s a few bad apples in it doesn’t mean they’re all bad. My dad was in Slytherin and he’s pretty nice.”

Graham smiled lightly. “I guess you’re right. Thanks Mikey.”

Suddenly, there was a knock at their compartment door and it slid open revealing a tall skinny boy with a cheeky face who looked worried about something, smiling at them nervously for a second.

“Hey there, sorry to bother you, but have any of you lads seen a toad? I’ve been searching everywhere for him. This makes the 3rd time I’ve lost him”

David shook his head, as well as Graham and Mike. John let out a quiet “no”. The boy huffed in annoyance. “Well, if you see him, could you tell me? The names Eric by the way. Eric Idle.”

“Sure Eric, no worries. Said David giving him a small smile.

“Great, much thanks.” replied Eric, then he bounded off to look for his missing toad. Graham swore he heard “I wish I got an owl instead.”

**

“Hogwarts looks pretty awesome doesn’t it Gray? I can’t believe we’re finally here!” yelled David excitedly over the sea of students.

Graham nodded and smiled. “It really is.” and he wasn’t lying. It looked positively, well. Magical. The entrance hall looked positively massive, as if he could fit his entire house and garage in here. Graham glanced at David nervously who pet him on the back in comfort.

“Are you worried about the sorting?” asked David. Graham nodded. “It’ll be fine. There’s no tests or anything you have to do. The sorting hat will take care of it for you.” Graham was just about to ask what he meant by that until he was inturrupted by a strict looking witch with sharp eyes and a thin mouth. Graham made a mental note to never get on her bad side.

“Welcome to Hogwarts! I’m Minerva McGonagall. Now in a few moments you will pass through these doors and join your classmates, but before you can take your seat, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Now while you’re here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points, any rule breaking and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the house cup-”

“Kevin!” exclaimed Eric, who scooped up what seemed to be his toad who was at McGonagall’s feet. He looked up sheepishly at the witch muttering an apology and slunk back in the crowd with the other students. His face was red with embarrassment. A few people chuckled, including Graham.

“The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily.” she continued as if Eric had not interrupted her, then walked away for a brief moment,

another student spoke up louder who seemed to have caught the attention of most of his peers, Graham and the boys stood up on their tiptoes curiously looking over a couple of taller kids and looked around and saw a boy with white-blond hair speaking to a boy with messy jet black hair. Graham could just barely make out what they were saying.

“So it’s true then, what they’re saying on the train…Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts.”

There was a murmur of excitement in the crowd and John, David, Michael and Graham shared a look of interest.

“This is Crabbe and Goyle.” the boy with the white-blond hair gestured lazily to the two lumpy boys who seemed to be his cronies. “And I’m Malfoy. Draco Malfoy.” Another boy with red hair and freckles let out a snicker. Malfoys eyes narrowed. “Think my name’s funny do you? Red hair, and a hand-me-down robe? You must be a Weasley. You’ll soon find out that some Wizarding Families are better than others Potter.” he said, throwing the redhead a nasty glare. “You don’t want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there.” he held out a hand, but Harry didn’t shake it.

“I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself thanks.” Harry said coldly. Malfoys’ jaw hardened and looked like he wanted to say something. But then McGonagall re-appeared.

“We are ready for you now. Follow me.” said McGonagall, Leading them into the Great Hall. Graham’s jaw dropped. Many candles were floating in mid air, flickering brightly. The ceiling didn’t look like a ceiling at all; more like a night sky. As if someone had removed the roof completely. He glanced at Mike, John and David who were also speechless. There were four incredibly long tables decorated with countless goblets, forks, knives and plates, all spotlessly clean, accompanying all that was also many countless older students.

“I’ve read about this. It’s bewitched to make it look like the night sky. I’ve read about it in __Hogwarts: A History.__ ” stated a girl in front of him with bushy brown hair.

McGonagall lead them all to the front where the Sorting Hat lay on a stool.

“Will you wait along here, please? Now, before we begin, Professor Dumbledore would like to say a few words.”

“ I have a few start of term notices I wish to announce.” said the old wizard, peering down kindly at them. “The first years please note that the dark forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch.” he gestures to a ragged old man, called Mr. Argus Filch, with his cat with red eyes, called Mrs. Norris _ _.__ ”has asked me to remind you that the 3rd floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death. Thank you.” Dumbledore sits back down onto his seat.

Graham looked at him in a mixture of disbelief and astonishment. How can he be so calm mentioning life threatening things. Much less including something that would cause death IN this school. He looked at the boys. They caught his eye and looked to be thinking along the same lines.

“When I call your name, I shall place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses. Hermione Granger.”

The bushy haired girl stepped forward muttering to herself to relax. The witch placed the hat on her head. The Sorting Hat was silent for a moment, then shouted: “Gryffindor!” Loud clapping came from the Gryffindor table. Hermione bounded off happily.

“David Sherlock.”

David’s eyes widened, Graham gave him an encouraging smile and offered him a thumbs up. The other boy smiled softly and made his way up to the stool and had the hat placed on his head.

“Hufflepuff!” shouted the hat. He made his way to the Hufflepuff table, giving Gray a quick wave and smile.

_Oh, please let me in Hufflepuff._ Thought Graham.

“Graham Chapman.”

Graham stepped forward nervously, sat down and waited for the hat to make it’s decision.

“Slytherin!”

Graham felt a stab of sadness that he couldn’t join David and walked over to the Slytherin table and seated himself between two older students.

On and on the list seemed to go on for. Michael was sorted into Gryffindor, John and Terry were sorted into Slytherin, he gestured for them to sit next to him. And Eric was sorted into Hufflepuff. Harry, and the redheaded boy, Ron, joined Hermione at the Gryffindor table. He was starting to get impatient, he wanted to eat! Until finally, after what seemed like forever, the last student got sorted. Dumbledore stood up again.

“Let the feast begin”

There were loud gasps from all around the hall; Food had appeared out of thin air, from piles of chicken legs, to plates for fries, to roast pork, sausages and roast potato. Graham had never seen so much food. Sure he ate well enough at home, but his parents could only afford just enough food to get by. He piled his plate with roast chicken, potato, peas and carrots. He never realized how hungry he was until that moment he shoveled food into his mouth with such swiftness that his mother would cringe at his poor manners.

“Good food isn’t it?” said Terry, who was stuffing his face full of turkey, with drumsticks in both hands.

Graham smiled lightly and nodded. He almost choked on his chicken when he saw a transparent figure with blood down the front of him gliding fast along the table swishing what looked like a fencing sword. Some of the older students laughed. Others screamed, Graham was the latter. He looked to John who looked surprisingly calm about it all. In fact, he looked more annoyed than anything at the interruption of his dinner.

“Pardon my language, but who in the bloody __hell__ was that?” Graham said as he took a swig of his pumpkin juice, trying to clear his sore throat.

“Oh him? He’s the Bloody Baron, he’s the Slytherin House ghost. The other houses have their own ghosts as well.” explained an older student with blond curly hair who was sitting opposite him, that looked like he was in his fifth year. “Hufflepuff has the Fat Friar, Ravenclaw has Rowena Ravenclaw and the Gryffindors have Nearly Headless Nick.”

“That’s so cool! Hey Gray, one day we got to ask the Baron where he got those bloodstains from.” said Terry in between mouthfuls.

Graham grimaced and suddenly felt a wave of nausea which almost put him off the rest of his dinner. He didn’t want to imagine the grisly details of how he got them. Nor was he interested in finding out. “No thanks, I’ll pass on that. I want to keep my dinner down,”

Terry just laughed and helped himself to some fries.

*

As soon as they were fed and watered, each prefect of every house led their respective houses to their dormitories; The Ravenclaws were led to the west side tower, The Hufflepuffs down to the kitchens, The Gryffindors upstairs to Gryffindor tower. He and his fellow Slytherins were led down into the dungeons and stopped at a blank stone wall. Graham frowned in confusion. He looked to John hoping he might know, he merely shrugged and looked as just as confused as he did. Why were they led to a blank stone wall?

__“Caput Serpentis”__ recited the Head Boy. The stones had melted away like butter on a hot summers day to reveal the Common room. The Slytherin common room was a long, low underground room with rough stone walls and ceiling, from which round, greenish lamps were hanging on chains. A fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them, and several older Slytherins were silhouetted around it in carved black and green tufted leather chairs, there was also dark wooden cupboards with skulls and books on them. Graham shivered, the feel of this room was quite cold, but he noticed how deep down they went into the dungeons and estimated that they must be underneath the lake, giving the common room it’s cold atmosphere. He rubbed his arms, shivering slightly. He wish he had brought a jumper.

“Welcome to the Slytherin common room!” announced the Head Boy, looking around at them all with a smile. “My name is prefect Herbert Gildsteen and I’m delighted to welcome you all to Slytherin House! I would love to tell you more about our house and our history but I see a lot of you are tired from your journey here, so I’ll save that story for another time. The Dormitory you see to the left of me is the Boys Dormitory, the Girl’s is on my right. You’ll find your belongings have already been brought up.”

There was an appreciative murmuring of his fellow first years as both the boys and the girls split up to head into their selective dormitories. Graham climbed the stairs along with John and Terry till they reached the top, revealing a wide circular room with multiple comfortable looking beds that had green curtains. Graham looked for his bed and spotted his belongings at the end of the foot of it, including Reggie, who was chirping happily in his cage. He made a mental note to definitely let him out in the morning, He then flopped ungraciously onto the soft surface, his eyes itching with tiredness.

“Great feast wasn’t it?” said Terry sleepily somewhere to his right.

Graham merely grunted and fell asleep almost instantly, forgetting to change into his pajamas.


End file.
